'Maurice' is a gem of a book, sparkling, but I love Forster. I envy you that biography of Merrill, must search it out, I love literary biography though. Yes, the 'Earthsea' multiverse is sublime, grand. Kipling reads out loud really well, a beautiful stylist, hauntingly memorable. If you don't have access to the Old English, then the Heaney alliterative verse translation of 'Beowulf' is incomparable, nothing else will do. If you enjoy the narrative poetry from this period, then Simon Armitage has done some memorable verse translations of 'Pearl', 'Sir Gawain & the Green Knight', 'The Owl & the Nightingale', & 'The Death of Arthur'. They are all very, very beautiful (& Faber have released some gorgeous hardback editions). Armitage is a marvel.
Yeah literary biography is wonderful. Seeing how artists lived their lives, and the relationship between their life and their work, is fascinating. I definitely want to learn Old English in the future. I hope my university offers a course in it, but we’ll see - they don’t always give us too many options for literature courses. I think they are slightly low on staff. Thanks for the recommendations on those poems! I’ll look out for them in the wild!
I had the house to myself for the entire day. I had two cups of coffee, trying to work myself up to make an "Everything I Read in 2024" kind of annual wrap-up video. Twenty minutes through it, my five-month-old kitten jumped onto my dinner table, almost upended a vase of hyacinths, and sent my webcam flying across the room. I just took that as a sign that I should probably film another day. Loved that you were able to peek in on the Symposium discussion with us! One of these days if the international shipping isn't too exorbitant, I'll send you some CDs as a way of saying thanks for all the great videos!
Oh no! I hope your kitten and everything else is okay! I’ve had a couple moments (though not so crazy) where the recording attempt just fails and I give up for the time being. I hope down the road you’ll make the video. It would be nice to see what your full year was like. No need to send CDs haha! I have enough.
Wonderful. What a quality reading year you had. I am a big rereader and have read my favourites multiple times over the years. Revisiting them is the ultimate in comfort. That said, I haven't returned to Anne since I was a teenager but I have a lovely used Penguin copy that I will read this year and Giovanni's Room is one I must get to soon. Lovely video.
I also like to reread books! So much can be missed the first time around and it’s just fun to spend more time in the world of one’s favourite books. Let me know how Anne of Green Gables goes. And Giovanni’s Room too. Thanks, Helen!
That sounds like an excellent reading year, Joshua! I read Baldwin for the first time last year and really liked the way he writes - I'm sure I'll be reading more from him in the future.
"Among Friends" describes your channel. I was very charmed by Anne of Green Gables. Now I anticipate Anne of Avonlea even more, as well The Jungle Book and Magic Mountain. I'm done with Robinson Crusoe, the ending was more than I could bear. Congratulations on your year of reading widely. Cheers.
I agree. All of these wonderful people coming to talk with me - it’s a haven. So is Anne of Green Gables! Anne of Avonlea is wonderful. I hope you enjoy it. What about Robinson Crusoe made you put it down? I’m curious. Thanks, Frank! Cheers
15:23 grab a copy of Beowulf: A Verse Translation (Norton Critical Editions). It’s Seamus’ translation but with a lot of good supplementals and annotations.
I have the paperback copy of Heaney’s translation, but if I see the Norton version out in the wild I’ll certainly snatch it up. They are priceless volumes for learning more about individual works.
It’s probably ok to trust your own feelings about Hawthorne. I want to read that Mann. I don’t remember hearing you mention _The Conjure Man Dies._ I read it a couple years ago, and, as with you, it makes me want to read Hammet (or Chandler, for that matter - both of whom are represented by LoA). Good reading! 👍
Ah, but I’ve heard Steve and others speak about it as if there were more in it that I wasn’t seeing. And yeah I didn’t mention any of the school readings until this video. If there are any good ones for this semester I’ll try to mention them. I’m a newbie when it comes to detective fiction, but I do have some fond memories of listening to Sherlock Holmes audiobooks some years ago. Thanks, David.
My friend recommended it to me a while ago, though I haven’t gotten to it yet. Thanks for this needful reminder. I’ll search it out when I next get the chance.
'Maurice' is a gem of a book, sparkling, but I love Forster. I envy you that biography of Merrill, must search it out, I love literary biography though. Yes, the 'Earthsea' multiverse is sublime, grand. Kipling reads out loud really well, a beautiful stylist, hauntingly memorable. If you don't have access to the Old English, then the Heaney alliterative verse translation of 'Beowulf' is incomparable, nothing else will do. If you enjoy the narrative poetry from this period, then Simon Armitage has done some memorable verse translations of 'Pearl', 'Sir Gawain & the Green Knight', 'The Owl & the Nightingale', & 'The Death of Arthur'. They are all very, very beautiful (& Faber have released some gorgeous hardback editions). Armitage is a marvel.
Thank you for those reading tips. Cheers
Yeah literary biography is wonderful. Seeing how artists lived their lives, and the relationship between their life and their work, is fascinating. I definitely want to learn Old English in the future. I hope my university offers a course in it, but we’ll see - they don’t always give us too many options for literature courses. I think they are slightly low on staff. Thanks for the recommendations on those poems! I’ll look out for them in the wild!
@@joshuacreboreads: The Simon Armitage work is marvellous. You'd love it.
I had the house to myself for the entire day. I had two cups of coffee, trying to work myself up to make an "Everything I Read in 2024" kind of annual wrap-up video. Twenty minutes through it, my five-month-old kitten jumped onto my dinner table, almost upended a vase of hyacinths, and sent my webcam flying across the room. I just took that as a sign that I should probably film another day. Loved that you were able to peek in on the Symposium discussion with us! One of these days if the international shipping isn't too exorbitant, I'll send you some CDs as a way of saying thanks for all the great videos!
Oh no! I hope your kitten and everything else is okay! I’ve had a couple moments (though not so crazy) where the recording attempt just fails and I give up for the time being. I hope down the road you’ll make the video. It would be nice to see what your full year was like. No need to send CDs haha! I have enough.
I enjoyed watching this wrap-up. 🙂
Yay! I’m glad 🙂
Wonderful. What a quality reading year you had. I am a big rereader and have read my favourites multiple times over the years. Revisiting them is the ultimate in comfort. That said, I haven't returned to Anne since I was a teenager but I have a lovely used Penguin copy that I will read this year and Giovanni's Room is one I must get to soon. Lovely video.
I also like to reread books! So much can be missed the first time around and it’s just fun to spend more time in the world of one’s favourite books. Let me know how Anne of Green Gables goes. And Giovanni’s Room too. Thanks, Helen!
That sounds like an excellent reading year, Joshua! I read Baldwin for the first time last year and really liked the way he writes - I'm sure I'll be reading more from him in the future.
Yes, me too! Baldwin is amazing. Thanks so much for commenting, Aaron! I hope you are doing well!
"Among Friends" describes your channel. I was very charmed by Anne of Green Gables. Now I anticipate Anne of Avonlea even more, as well The Jungle Book and Magic Mountain. I'm done with Robinson Crusoe, the ending was more than I could bear. Congratulations on your year of reading widely. Cheers.
I agree. All of these wonderful people coming to talk with me - it’s a haven. So is Anne of Green Gables! Anne of Avonlea is wonderful. I hope you enjoy it. What about Robinson Crusoe made you put it down? I’m curious. Thanks, Frank! Cheers
15:23 grab a copy of Beowulf: A Verse Translation (Norton Critical Editions). It’s Seamus’ translation but with a lot of good supplementals and annotations.
I have the paperback copy of Heaney’s translation, but if I see the Norton version out in the wild I’ll certainly snatch it up. They are priceless volumes for learning more about individual works.
It’s probably ok to trust your own feelings about Hawthorne. I want to read that Mann. I don’t remember hearing you mention _The Conjure Man Dies._ I read it a couple years ago, and, as with you, it makes me want to read Hammet (or Chandler, for that matter - both of whom are represented by LoA). Good reading! 👍
Ah, but I’ve heard Steve and others speak about it as if there were more in it that I wasn’t seeing. And yeah I didn’t mention any of the school readings until this video. If there are any good ones for this semester I’ll try to mention them. I’m a newbie when it comes to detective fiction, but I do have some fond memories of listening to Sherlock Holmes audiobooks some years ago. Thanks, David.
4:41 have you watched the Schrader film, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters?
My friend recommended it to me a while ago, though I haven’t gotten to it yet. Thanks for this needful reminder. I’ll search it out when I next get the chance.